Debi's Crazy Life;

This weeks Papertake Weekly challenge is sort of an Easter free for all.  So I pulled out this Stampin' Up! stamp set from last year that *gasp* had never actually even been inked up!  I stamped my image twice and colored both images with prismacolor pencils, blended with odorless mineral spirits.  I then cut out parts of the second image and popped them up to adds some extra dimension to the first image.  I used the sketch from this weeks Crazy 4 Challenges and the technique (paper toile) from the Stampin' Sisters in Christ challenge. Our sponsor this week: Simon Says Stamp Make sure you pop over to the  team blog  and play along with us. Check out what the rest of the team has done and show them some love. Dawny Donna Jill Lols Mandy Sharon Steph What I used: Stampin' Up! Serene Spring and Well Scripted SU kraft, white and cool caribbean card stock Basic Grey Kioshi Versafine Onxy Black clear embossing powder Prismacolor pencils, OMS and blending ...

At this time of year we always need thank you cards and this weeks Papertake Weekly challenge is just this, to make a thank you card. I whipped up this quick little thank you card using some lovely Cosmo Cricket paper that I picked up recently, a Stampin' Up! verse, some Prima flowers and the Mojo Monday sketch . What I used: SU Kind & Caring Thoughts baja breeze, confetti cream card stock Cosmo Cricket designer paper chocolate chip classic stamp pad old olive grosgrain ribbon Prima flowers half back pearls

I have a big decision to make and truthfully it is tearing me apart. I want to say first and for most that I love Stampin' Up! and its products. The first stamp I ever used was a Stampin' Up! stamp and the only card stock I ever use comes from them as well. But I am faced with a dilema. As of this morning, September 1st, Stampin' Up! has set a new online policy that would forbid me as a demonstrator for their company from continuing to be a member of any stamp companies design team, showing, linking to, blogging, tweeting or sharing anything that contains a product that is not theirs. This means that the links to my friends blogs on the side are no longer allowed. Publishing this post on facebook is forbidden. Even posting on SplitCoastStampers may be no longer allowed. Linking to challenges that I participate in, no longer acceptable. I need to decide if the few thousand dollars I make a year selling Stampin' Up! products is worth losing my following online. Th...

Have you ever tried to make a card and even after you have ripped it apart a dozen times it still isn't right? Well that is this card. I made 2 other cards today that went really smoothly but not this one. I made it combining the Mojo Monday sketch and the Color Throwdown Challenges. The problem was Melon Mambo is really, really bright. Pretty but way to bright for me to get them to work together and I cheated just a bit and added a touch of green because the roses just needs a couple of leaves. Hope you like it. What I used: A Rose is a Rose, Much Appreciated stamp sets basic black, kraft, whisper white, crushed curry card stock basic black, crushed curry, alway artichoke, melon mambo classic ink pads finial press embossing folder white satin and kraft taffeta ribbons

I know, I know, where have I been? Frankly I have been right here glued to my computer for most of last week waiting for every tiny tidbit of information about the Stampin' Up! annual convention in Salt Lake City. I wasn't able to attend this year, sob, but several of my stampin' friends were there and kindly kept me up to date. Now that I have finally pried myself away for the computer for a couple of minutes, I thought it would be fun to play along with todays SplitCoastStampers challenge. Todays color challenge is a little bit different then usual so I would suggest that you read all about it here . The second example is made by one of my sideline Sherry and it is absolutely beautiful so make sure you check that one out too. What I used: Medallion, God's Blessings Rich Razzleberry, Pretty in Pink, Very Vanilla card stock Rich Razzleberry classic stamp pad bleach sponge very vanilla wide grosgrain ribbon

Just another quick card today. I found that I have no wedding cards left in my stash so I thought that I would make one today by combining a couple of challenges. I used the Mojo Monday sketch and SplitCoastStampers color challenge . What I used: Ever After, Bella Toile close to cocoa, cameo coral, blush blossom, certainly celery, whisper white card stock certainly celery, close to cocoa classic stamp pads certainly celery wide grosgrain ribbon sponges stampin' write markers

Just finished prepping for a beginners card class I am doing for my church family. I tried to keep the cards fairly simple. I hope everyone likes them and that they have a good time trying something new. What I used: Refuge and Strength stamp set confetti cream, very vanilla, chocolate chip card stock soft suede, chocolate chip, old olive classic stamp pads old olive narrow grosgrain ribbon What I used: Medallion, God's Blessings stamp sets whisper white, certainly celery card stock certainly celery, whisper white stamp pads dimensionals, silver brads What I used: Thoughts & Prayers stamp set basic black, kraft, bashful blue card stock basic black stamp pad wide stitched bashful blue ribbon

You are gonna wish that you had booked a workshop for the month of August after you have seen what I have for you. Check them out... What do you think? Maybe you should call me and book a workshop. If you can't I understand and since I am in a kind mood I will give you a quick run down on how each one is done. The first card uses the new stamp Medallion. This stamp caught my eye first thing. I think you will be seeing a lot of it, because I really, really like all the things you can do with it. The card base on this is made out of confetti cream. I then stamped the medallion stamp on it using a Versamark stamp pad. I then used sponge dauber to apply pastel chalks. On a scrap I did the same thing of just the center of the medallion then punched it out with a 1 3/4" circle punch, added a little bling with a fire circle rhinestone brad then attached the circle to the center of the medallion with foam dimensionals. Added a couple of strips of basic grey and sage shadow ...

I am really excited about the new Stampin' Up! catalog and I am having an open house tomorrow night. Below are the three projects that all my stamping friends are going to do. I used the 4 new stamp sets that I pre-ordered (Teeny Tiny Wishes, Razzle Dazzle, Lots of Bots and Autumn Days), 4 of the 6 new InColors (Bermuda Bay, Crushed Curry, Dusty Durango and Soft Suede), 2 new ribbons and the InColor markers. Everyone is gonna have a lot of fun making these 3 cards, winning doorprizes and eating desert. If you are in the area why don't you drop by...

If you read my blog at all this winter you know that I spent a ton of hours working on my entries for Stampin' Up!'s Artisan Award contest. Well I didn't win, obviously and since I am mostly done sulking about it I thought that I would take the time to share the 3 scrapbook pages that I did for it. The scrapbook pages feature my three youngest children Manny, Ellie and Jessika. I won't get into the details of what I used since most of it is now retired but I needed to do a little showing off. Sorry about the quality of the pictures, they were taken poolside at my girlfriends beach house where I put the finishing touches on my entries.

Spending this rainy Saturday stampin' and scrappin' with my friends. Does it get any better then that? Thought I would share this scrapbook layout I just finished of my daughter Ellie's first day of Kindergarten. What I used: Walk in the Park designer paper Basic Grey, Baja Breeze, Kiwi Kiss card stock Top Note die, Serif Essentials Alphabet, Beautiful Butterflies Sizzix Bigs Dies Billboard Sizzlits Decorative Strip Die Kiwi Kiss striped grosgrain ribbon jumbo brad

I fear I have been once again suffering from a lack of mojo. I have no idea why. The time has been available to me but I have failed to take advantage of the opportunity. I have quite literally had the new designer paper, stamp set and punch that I used today for the last month and hadn't even OPENED them! Haven't a clue of what my problem is. Anyway, I forced myself into the office today. Pulled out todays sketch challenge and jumped in. Have to confess that I am not loving this but that is probably mostly my negative attitude. Hope you like it. I am now off to work off my ugly mood doing housework. What I used: Oval All Kiwi Kiss, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White card stock Walk in the Park designer paper Chocolate Chip classic ink pad Stampin' Write markers Large Oval punch, Scallop Oval punch, Scallop edge punch wide Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon

I know it has been awhile again since I posted but I am almost done with my Artisan Award projects and hope to go postal with them this weekend. Decided to take a break from that and household drudgery and play with todays sketch challenge and yesterdays color challenge from SplitCoastStampers. I have had this stamp set, Ever After, for a while now, I bought it to make some wedding cards but haven't had time to play with it before today. I thought it would work nicely with the Pirouette Pink, Riding Hood Red and Chocolate Chip color combination. Nothing very fancy or different on this card though I did sponge the edges of everything with chocolate chip ink. On the background I used one of the Stampin' Up! texture plates and sponged the texture a little bit to make it stand out more. The heart of the main image is inked with riding hood red classic ink then I ran a chocolate chip marker around the end before I stamped. What I used: Ever After stamp set Romance wheel Choco...

I got a lot done today and managed to finish this card that I started on Tuesday for the SplitCoastStampers color challenge and the Mojo Monday sketch challenge. Not completely satisfied with this but I thought I would share it anyway. What I used: Thoughts & Prayers stamp set Whisper White, Always Artichoke, Basic Black Raspberry Tart designer paper Basic Black classic ink Stampin' Write markers vintage brads Scallop circle punch, 1 3/8 circle punch

I did this card for todays Ways to Use it Challenge; Stripes over on SplitCoastStampers. When I started the card I had a scrap of striped designer paper in my hand but I can't for the life of me figure out what I did with it (I will probably find it in the fridge or some such place later, having all the kids home and half the neighborhood here for mid-winter break isn't helping, obviously) so instead of starting the card over I added a different designer paper and used striped ribbon instead. This card uses the new Stampin' Up! stamp set "Thoughts & Prayers" I love this new set and am having a lot of fun playing around with it. The set has two image stamps, this one and another one of a very interesting tree but the words are the best part. They are all fabulous, a must have for the Christian stamper and my first choice out of the newest catalog. What I used: Thoughts & Prayers stamp set Basic Black, Very Vanilla, Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss card sto...

Do you get those mid-winter blues? I do, every year and this year seems much worse then others. It could be all the snow or that the sun has not really shined much lately but it is really starting to get me down. More snow again today, 6"-10" today and another 2"-5" tonight, doesn't that sound lovely? No, I don't think so either. Between the lovely (NOT!!) weather and a shaky stomach (thanks to that nasty little bug my beautiful children decided to share with me) I am in major need of spring. Since you know that stupid groundhog is going to see his shadow next week and doom us to 6 more (who are we kidding more like 3 more months) weeks of winter and my vacation is still 4 weeks away I decided I could at least stamp springish. Sale-a-bration is coming, it starts February 1st and I figured you might want a little peek at what wonderful free stuff you can get. For those of you not in the know, Sale-a-bration is Stampin' Up!s annual sale, for eve...

Your going to be sorry that you missed my open house tonight. I have 3 really fun projects to share all using brand new stamps sets. Don't ya wish you were here? Well since you can't make it I will eat your share of the yummy desert, browse through the **brand new Stampin' Up! catalog**, and help everyone else make these lovely cards, while you sit home, wishing you were here. But I will be nice and share what we are making tonight. This fun one using the top note Big Shot die and Petal Pizzazz. This one with Echoes of Kindness one of the new Level 2 hostess sets. And this one using Just buzzin' by that I totally copied from Jaydee from SplitCoastStampers because it is just too cute and I had run out of simply wonderful ideas. We are Croppin' all day tomorrow so maybe I will have something wonderful to share with you again soon.

The colors of the day are Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze and Kraft from the color challenge over on SplitCoastStampers. I combined the color challenge with the Mojo Monday sketch challenge and this is what I came up with. Nothing fancy on this just a couple of little fussy details. I stamped the main image with NQN classic ink on kraft card stock then added a little baja breeze ink with an aquapainter and sponged around the edges. I added some color to the leaves with a mellow moss Stampin' Write marker. I made the scalloped edge on the circle (which was cut with my coluzzle) with a small corner punch, then pierced with a piercing tool. What I used: Fresh Cuts stamp set Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze and Kraft card stock Urban Garden designer paper Not Quite Navy and Baja Breeze classic stamp pads wide stitched baja breeze grosgrain ribbon mat pack and piercing tool Build-a-Brad 1/2 circle punch, small corner rounder coluzzle cutting system sponge

You have probably noticed that I am not really very clever with 3D items. My brain just doesn't seem to work very well in that direction but on occasion I do give one a try. The Technique Lovers Challenge on SplitCoastStampers today is to make this cute little origami box so I figured I would play along and this is what I came up with. If you follow the link above you can see the directions on how I made the box. The only thing I changed is that I put a jumbo eyelet in the lid and bottom so that I could thread my extra wide ribbon through it to hold my box shut. The flowers on the top of the box are cut out then embellished with half back pearls for the pretties kit and dazzling diamond glitter mixed with crystal effects. What I used: Petal Pizzazz stamp set Raspberry Tart designer paper Rose Red, Pretty in Pink and Kiwi Kiss card stock Rose Red, Pretty in Pink and Kiwi Kiss classic stamp pads light weight chipboard (from a cereal box) 1 1/4" wide pink pirouette grosgrain...

I got a very late start today. Lots of freezing rain this morning delayed school for 2 hours which meant I had every kid in the neighborhood running around my house this morning. This was supposed to be one of my kid free days, didn't work out that way though. Even before I got the kiddos off to school I was on the phone with my upline who is at Leadership for Stampin' Up!, getting all the up to the moment details about the new Spring/Summer catalog. All I can say about that is that I can barely wait to get my copy into my hot little hands, my mastercard is going to be smokin'. Well probably just steaming a little bit until I manage to make some money but you know what I mean right? Well since I was thinking new catty, why not use Echoes of Kindness (yes, again) to do todays sketch challenge over on SplitCoastStampers. Nothing fancy on this one. Both backgrounds are designer paper from the Bella Rose collection. The two main images are both sponged with chocolate ...